


Could It Be Magic?

by rosensilence



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bad Flirting, Hux Has No Chill, M/M, Magician AU, The Force is Magic, background reysma, kylo ren's bad chat up lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 10:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15556023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosensilence/pseuds/rosensilence
Summary: Armitage Hux doesn't believe in magic, but he finds himself at a magic competition anyway.  He meets the magician Kylo Ren and finds himself wondering if maybe, not all magic is fake.For KyluxXoxo Week 5 - fake, night, magic





	Could It Be Magic?

The pub wasn’t that bad, all things considered.  When Phasma had turned up on his doorstep earlier that night and refused to leave unless he got dressed and left with her, Hux had expected something worse.  It was one of those hipster pubs that were popping up all over London; all bare boards and brick work, and a selection of real ales that had names only slightly more pretentious than the clientele was.

It wasn’t Hux’s ideal Thursday night, but it beat the rundown country pubs that his father had drunk away Hux’s inheritance in.

The most worrying aspect of the pub, and the reason why Phasma had chosen it, was the signboard outside.   _Magic Grand Prix_ it had said in slightly wobbly, hand-drawn lettering.  Just in case anyone was still in doubt, the rest of the board had been decorated with chalk drawings of a magician’s top hat, a magic wand and a rabbit.   Although, if that rabbit had been real it would have been put out of its misery long ago by any vet worth their salt.

Phasma had long had a fascination with magic.  Hux had never understood it—and he took great delight in pointing out the flaws in the few card tricks she knew—but he knew better than to argue with her.  If Phasma took you to a pub that was hosting a Magic Grand Prix and told you to go inside, then you went inside. Hux would leave Phasma to her magic, as long as she left him to his attempts to replace his blood with vodka tonic.

Phasma not only paid the £10 entry fee for both of them—quite extortionate in Hux’s view—but she also bought the first round of drinks.  It didn’t take long for her to come back from the bar with a vodka tonic for Hux and a pint of real ale for herself.   _It’s called Heavenly Blonde_ , she’d said of the ale just before she drained half of the glass in one swallow.  Hux took a more dignified sip from his vodka tonic—more tonic than vodka, unfortunately—and looked over the programme Phasma had picked up at the bar.

It had been printed on canary yellow paper and was entirely in comic sans, giving it the effect of having been designed by a nine-year-old on a sugar high.  There were six magic acts listed, all with names that wouldn’t have sounded out-of-place in a dystopian sci-fi movie, and Hux hoped that the night would progress painlessly and quickly.

“Cheer up, Hux,” Phasma said, knocking back the rest of her drink, “you can have fun telling me how they do all of their tricks.”

“And spoil the magic?  I wouldn’t dare.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.  It’s your round.”

Hux looked from his barely touched vodka tonic to Phasma’s empty pint glass and sighed.  It was going to be one of those nights. He didn’t have anything approaching Phasma’s ability to cut through a crowd but he did his best.  He glared at anyone standing in his way and was satisfied to see most of them wilt underneath that glare. It still, however, took him far too long to return with their drinks.  The MC, a far too cheerful young woman with three buns in her hair and odd wraps around her arms, had just taken to the stage when Hux finally sat down.

“Good evening everyone and welcome to the Millennium Falcon for our annual Magic Grand Prix!  My name is Rey, and I’ll be your compère for the night!  Before we get started, I want to take this opportunity to explain the rules as I see many new faces here with us this year.  Each magic act will have 15 minutes on stage, and when all six have performed my beautiful assistant Rose will pass out the voting forms.”

“Oh, Rey’s cute,” Phasma whispered to Hux, “I haven’t seen her here before.  I’ll have to talk to her before we leave.”

Hux rolled his eyes.  Phasma had always been a sucker for a pretty face.

Rey paused briefly while a woman who Hux assumed to be Rose held up the voting forms.  “You’ll have ten minutes to vote for your favourite act, and whoever wins will take home £1,000 and this wonderful trophy!”

In Hux’s opinion the trophy was less wonderful and more made out of tin foil and sticky back plastic, but he couldn’t argue with the £1,000 prize.  It took about ten minutes for the first act to be ready and in that time Phasma managed to finish her second pint and be deep into her third. Hux wasn’t looking forward to carrying her home.

The curtain raised to the sight of the first magician, an older guy who introduced himself as Peavey, surrounded in darkness and a barely functional smoke machine.  Soon a pounding techno backing track begun and before Peavey had even finished his first trick it was already threatening to give Hux a headache. Hux decided to distract himself by figuring out the methods behind the tricks, and unfortunately for Hux, the next four acts were no improvement on the first. 

“This is so fake.”

“He has a card hidden in his sleeve.”

“She’s obviously just counting cards.  Deal them out into five piles of four and the next card will be the target card.”

“Those feet aren’t moving naturally, and you can hear the motors whirring.”

“Mirrors.  It’s mirrors.”

“Their assistant is obviously not just one person but is in fact twins and they switched behind the curtain.”

“Come on, you can see the wires.”

“That is not the same rabbit.  Trust me, I have experience with rabbits.”

After the fifth act, Hux was beginning to regret every decision in his life that had led to him sitting in a pub called the Millennium Falcon and drinking vodka tonics at a magic show.  The acts so far had been even faker than Hux had expected, and he was beginning to have a new measure of respect for Phasma and her awkward card tricks. She was certainly no worse than anybody on stage.

As for Phasma, she seemed to be enjoying the show, despite its flaws.  “Who’s been your favourite so far, Hux?”

Hux considered Phasma’s question for a few moments.  It was hard for him to choose as they had all been equally awful.  “The third act, Maz. I liked how she was barely tall enough to look over her prop table.  The rabbit escaping and running for the exit was a particular highlight. You?”

“Jess Pava has improved a lot since last year’s Grand Prix,” Phasma replied.  Hux hadn’t known that Phasma came last year, but he wasn’t surprised to hear it.  “But, the hot favourite is the last guy.”

Hux looked at the program again.  They were five terrible acts down and one to go, and it was an act by the name of… “Kylo Ren?”

“Kylo is amazing.  Even you won’t be able to see how he does his tricks.”

“We’ll see about that,” Hux said stiffly.  “I’m sure he’s just as fake as everyone else.”

When the curtain rose Hux shuffled forward in his seat, determined to prove Phasma wrong and figure out every trick this Kylo Ren had up his sleeves.  Not that he was wearing any sleeves, actually. He was dressed all in black; black slacks, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black waistcoat.  The only splash of colour was his bright red tie. It was a look that was both highly attractive and one that reminded Hux of the bartenders at TGI Fridays.

None of those bartenders wore it as well as Kylo, however.  The shirt and waistcoat did little to hide the thick arms and chest underneath, and the slacks were just tight enough to make Hux’s mouth water.  Kylo’s long dark hair had been pulled up into a loose bun and it had the effect of showing off an impressively long neck. Hux found himself wondering how that hair looked when it was loose.  Fake magician or not, Kylo was a striking looking man and nothing was more striking than his face. It had a softness and openness that betrayed the man’s size. Kylo’s awkwardness at standing in front of a crowd was especially endearing after the confidence and arrogance of those that had gone before him.

Kylo’s first trick was a simple card trick and Hux watched Kylo’s big but elegant hands with close interest.  The cards were oversized so there was no chance that any could be hidden in Kylo’s pockets but Hux still kept a close watch and tried to count along with Kylo’s movements.  However, when Kylo simply threw the entire deck into the air and blindly skewered a card at random with a sword that had been painted the same red as Kylo’s tie, Hux was as amazed as anyone that the card he stabbed was the correct one.

Hux kept an even closer watch after that, but it didn’t help.  He couldn’t understand how Kylo could keep a tight ball of fire hovering above his palm, or how he broke a glass with his sword before instantly piecing it back together with a wave of his hand.  Kylo made a martini without touching anything—the bottles poured themselves—and reeled off the birthdates of everyone in the audience, including Hux’s. 

And Hux couldn’t figure out any of it.

Other than for those birthdates Kylo hadn’t spoken to the audience much during his tricks.  However, with only a couple of minutes of his 15 left to go, Kylo began to address the audience.  Maybe if Hux hadn’t have been so hung up on the plush lips that were moving and had concentrated more on what they were saying he would have noticed that Kylo was asking for a volunteer for his next trick.  He definitely should have noticed Phasma enthusiastically volunteering him, but Kylo was smiling and Hux couldn’t see anything other than that.

It wasn’t until Phasma unceremoniously pushed him off his stool and shoved him towards the stage that Hux finally realised what was happening.  By that time it was too late as there was Kylo, waiting at the edge of the stage with a smile that could melt even Hux’s cynical heart.

“Let’s hear a round of applause for our lovely volunteer!” Kylo said as Hux took the small step up to the makeshift stage.

This wasn’t good, Hux thought.  There were too many people and too many ways he could embarrass himself.  The potential for embarrassment was made worse because not only did Kylo Ren have a sinfully sexy voice, but he had beautiful eyes, too.  Depending on how the next few minutes progressed, Hux was either going to kill Phasma or buy her several barrels of _Heavenly Blonde_ real ale.

Kylo was still smiling, but Hux forced himself to listen when Kylo spoke.  “What’s your name?”

“Hux.”

“Just Hux?”  Hux answered with a nod, not wanting to admit to a crowd that his first name was _Armitage_ , of all things.  Kylo took the lack of a response in his stride.  “Okay, Just Hux. Will you help me?”

Hux rolled his eyes at the obvious nickname.  Kylo’s on-stage patter certainly needed some work, even if his magic didn’t.  “Do I have a choice?”

“Of course!  I don’t think your friend would be happy if you didn’t, though!”

Phasma jokingly waved an angry fist in Hux’s direction, causing several audience members to break out in laughter.  Hux sighed, resigned to his fate. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

This, happened to be a long metal table.  It was pushed on to the stage by the compère Rey and Kylo quickly positioned it front and centre.  Hux looked at it suspiciously and was not happy with how much it looked like a table that had been a big focus of the shock horror movie he’d watched the night before.  The table in that movie had been used for surgery by an insane serial killer. Flashes of being chopped into pieces by a big red sword before being stuck back together again crashed through Hux’s mind.

“For my final performance of the evening, I will make Just Hux fly using only the power of my mind!  Please, lie down.”

Suddenly, Hux felt disappointed.  “You’re ending on a simple levitation trick?”

“It’s not a trick,” Kylo whispered.  “Lie down and you’ll see.”

“How will you levitate me?  What do I have to do?”

“All you have to do is lie down.”

“But really, how will you do it?  Mirrors? Wires?”

“Just lie on the table, Hux.”

“You can tell me, I won’t tell anyone how—”

“Just lie on the goddamn table!” Kylo said through gritted teeth, his frustration finally breaking through.

Hux scowled but did as he was told.  The table wasn’t very comfortable, but Hux refused to be distracted by a little discomfort.  He had a ringside seat for the final trick of Kylo’s and he was determined to unravel the mystery of how it was done.  The first thing he checked for was wires. He couldn’t see any and flexed his limbs a little to see if Kylo had sneakily attached any to him or to the table itself.  However, there were none to be found.

He crossed ‘wires’ off his mental checklist.

Hux couldn’t see any mirrors either, and there was definitely only himself and Kylo Ren on stage.  He was running short on theories, but he was sure that when he started ‘levitating’ the trick would become obvious.  Hux continued to lie on the table as he’d been instructed, but nothing seemed to happen. Kylo had stopped talking and was out of Hux’s limited line of sight—although Hux could still smell his intoxicatingly earthy cologne—and there was nothing else to be heard.  It was as if the entire pub was hanging there, waiting for Kylo to perform his trick.

Then there was a rapturous round of applause and suddenly, the ceiling seemed a lot closer than it had before.

“Stay still,” Kylo said.  His voice sounded slightly strained and seemed to be coming from underneath Hux.  “This is more difficult if you move.”

Levitating didn’t feel how Hux had expected it to.  In fact, it felt exactly the same as lying on the table did, and it was only seeing the table pushed to the side and several feet below him that convinced Hux he wasn’t still on it.  However, his disappointment at the normality of levitation was nothing compared to the disappointment he felt at still having no idea how Kylo had achieved it.

He was in the air, but felt as well supported as he had on the table.  There was something underneath his body that was holding him firm and keeping him secure, and Hux found that he felt no fear.  It was just a trick, after all. It wasn’t as if Kylo Ren was genuinely levitating him high into the air with only the power of his mind.

“I’ll bring you back down now.  Remember to stay still, and stay calm.”

“I am calm,” Hux said bitterly.  He wasn’t ready to come down yet, though.  He still hadn’t figured out how he was floating eight feet in the air.

Staring up at the ceiling as he’d floated up had been strangely calming, but coming back down again while staring at the audience was less so.  Looking out across the impressed and shocked faces of the crowd made it far easier to see exactly how high Kylo had lifted him. The descent was slow and controlled but no less unnerving for it.  When Hux was back on the table again with a sweaty and flushed looking Kylo standing by his side, Hux felt far more relieved than he’d ever admit.

“Let’s have a big round of applause for Just Hux, our amazing volunteer!”

The applause was the loudest it had been all night—Hux was pretty sure those loud whistles were coming from Phasma—and it made it difficult to hear Kylo when he lowered his voice for Hux’s ears only.  “Are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you.  That was rather nausea-inducing on the way down.”

“Yeah, it always hits people on the way down.  Let me help you stand up.”

Usually Hux’s pride wouldn’t allow him to accept help from someone unless he was unconscious or dying.  But when Kylo took him by the hand to help him off the table and then slipped an arm around him to make sure he didn’t stumble, Hux gladly accepted it.  Although Hux had his pride, he wasn’t going to miss a chance to get one of Kylo’s sturdy arms around him. He had been, he hated to admit, rather touch starved as of late.

“Are you okay to leave the stage?” Kylo asked softly.  They were standing close enough that Hux could feel Kylo’s breath on his neck.

The concern Kylo was showing was rather heartwarming, Hux thought.  “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okay,” Kylo said to Hux.  He stepped away and raised his voice again to address the audience.  “Let’s hear it one last time for Hux!”

Hux stepped off the stage and bowed in acknowledgment to the few comments thrown his way from the other patrons as he made his way back to the table he shared with Phasma.  They weren’t far from the stage but it was far enough that Hux could no longer smell Kylo’s cologne and that, of all things, made him feel like it was too far.

Kylo took a bow and was immediately replaced on stage by Rey, who quickly started going through the voting rules.  Hux paid no attention, however, and simply knocked back the vodka tonic that was still waiting for him.

“What did it feel like to be levitated eight feet in the air by a hot magician?” Phasma asked with a wink.

“You think he’s hot?”

Phasma shrugged.  “You obviously do.”

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Hux mumbled.

“How did he do it?”

“I’d rather not talk about that either.”

“You don’t know, do you?  You couldn’t figure it out!  I told you that you wouldn’t.”  

Hux didn’t like the tone of triumph in Phasma’s voice so he chose to ignore it and instead concentrated on the voting papers that had been placed on their table.  The font was comic sans again, but the paper colour had changed to a sickly green and Hux was suddenly feeling nostalgic for the canary yellow. He had half a mind to vote for somebody other than Kylo just to prove a point to Phasma, but he wasn’t quite that petty.  The truth was that Kylo Ren had blown the competition out of the water, and he more than deserved to win.

Hux ticked the box next to Kylo’s name and neatly folded his voting paper in half, purposely not looking at Phasma as he did so.  She didn’t say anything, but she did swipe the pen out of his hand in order to make her own vote. The voting papers were quickly collected and counted, and Hux managed to down another vodka tonic while doing his best to avoid Phasma’s teasing.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?”  Rey was back on stage again, still smiling and even more excited than before.  “It’s time to announce the winner of the fifth annual Millennium Falcon Magic Grand Prix!  May I ask for our magic acts to join me on stage again?”

The six acts all dutifully returned to the stage, but Hux only had eyes for Kylo.  He nervously shifted from foot to foot and didn’t seem confident in his chances, despite being by far the most competent magician on the stage.  When Rey announced Kylo’s name—to the surprise of nobody—Kylo shuffled forward to receive his prize with none of the joy or pride that might have been expected.  Instead, he simply muttered a few words of thanks, took his prizes, and strode off stage before Rey had been able to call for a final round of applause.

With the contest over and the clock nearing 11pm on a weeknight, the crowd soon began to leave.  Hux knew better than to assume that Phasma was ready to leave. She still had half a pint of _Heavenly Blonde_ left in her glass and had yet to speak to Rey.  He resigned himself to a late night and wondered how many cups of coffee he was going to need in the morning.

“Ah, I think I spy the beautiful Rey behind the bar,” Phasma said before downing the rest of her pint.  “Time to congratulate her on a job well done.”

Hux wasn’t the kind of guy that frequented pubs on his own—that had been more his father’s style—and he felt a little uncomfortable sitting there alone.  He took out his mobile phone and scrolled through his Instagram feed. It didn’t take long for Hux to find a photo Phasma had taken of him floating several feet in the air.  Even from this new angle he still couldn’t understand how Kylo had done it, but at least he could see Kylo in Phasma’s photo.

If Hux double tapped the photo right on Kylo’s face, then that was just a slip of his finger.

“Can I join you?”

Hux nearly dropped his phone when the smooth, deep voice of Kylo Ren interrupted his Instagram browsing.  Luckily he managed to keep hold of his phone and quickly stashed it back into the pocket of his jacket. It really was Kylo standing across the table from him and Hux nodded his permission, not quite trusting his voice at that moment.  Kylo took Phasma’s seat and placed his can of Red Bull on the table.

“I just wanted to say thank you for helping out,” Kylo said with a shy smile, “I think it was the levitation piece that won the prize for me.” 

For such an obviously skilled magician, Kylo was remarkably humble.  “It was the entire show. The other acts were so obviously fake that I could see how they did all the tricks.”

“You could?”

“Yes.  I couldn’t understand any of your tricks, though.”

Kylo’s smile disappeared to be replaced by something that Hux almost considered to be a pout.  “I don’t do fake tricks,” Kylo spat, “I perform magic.”

“There’s no such thing as magic.”

“Isn’t there?”

“Of course not.  You didn’t really levitate me using only the power of your mind,” Hux insisted.

“Then how did I do it?”

Hux paused.  “I should be asking you that question.  Really, how did you do it? Was it wires?”

Kylo sighed and waved his hand over Hux’s glass.  Although Hux had finished the drink, the ice cubes hadn’t fully melted yet and Hux watched in dumbfounded amazement as the ice cubes rose up out of the glass and hovered in the air.  That glass had been sat on the table for the last fifteen minutes and Hux had fetched it from the bar himself. There was nothing Kylo could have done to it, yet here he was, levitating ice out of the glass.

Maybe Kylo really did perform magic.

“That was—.”  Hux trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.

“Someone told me once that there was more to magic than lifting rocks,” Kylo said wistfully.  He put his hand flat on the table and the ice cubes dropped straight back down into the glass.  “Do you believe in magic now?”

“I’m beginning to,” Hux said with grudging admittance.  “Everyone else was so fake, though.”

“It wasn’t the best contest tonight,” Kylo agreed.

Hux wasn’t sure if it was bad etiquette to ask his next question, but now that he had Kylo and his magic to himself, Hux thought he’d take the chance.  “Can you show me anything else?”

“Sure.  Hold your right hand out with your palm facing up.”  Hux did as requested and was intrigued when Kylo put a small business card on his palm.  “Now, put your left hand over it.”

Hux sat there with a business card sandwiched between his hands and waited for whatever came next.  Kylo seemed to be considering his next course of action as he studied Hux’s hands closely, and it gave Hux a further chance to stare at Kylo’s face.  His eyes weren’t the dark brown that Hux had presumed they were on stage. Instead, they were a burnt amber mixed with the same shade as the oak table they were sitting at, and they were incredibly expressive.  Hux could stare at them for hours. He could stare at that mouth too, especially with how Kylo was lightly nibbling on his bottom lip.

“Now, to kiss the card goodbye.”

Hux had barely had time to recognise and understand the meaning of Kylo’s words before Kylo’s big hands wrapped around his.  Those hands pulled his across the table and closer to Kylo. He didn’t quite believe that Kylo was literally going to kiss the card goodbye, but when Kylo leaned down and pressed his plush lips against the back of Hux’s left hand with a barely there caress, he had to eat his words.

He’d been doing a lot of that with Kylo Ren.

“Open your hands,” Kylo said softly.

As expected, the card had gone.  Before Hux could say anything, his phone started ringing.  He muttered an apology to Kylo for the interruption, but part of him was glad of the call.  Checking his phone would hopefully give him the few seconds he desperately needed to get his head back on straight.  Hux wasn’t used to having devastatingly attractive guys kissing his hand and performing actual magic for him, but there had been nothing normal about this night.

Hux pulled his phone out of his pocket and almost missed the business card that slipped out with it.  The card had landed face up, however, and Hux gawked in amazement when he saw it was Kylo’s card. He looked at his phone and was somehow not surprised when the number calling him, was Kylo’s.

“Magic!”  Kylo put his own phone on the table.  “You have my number now.”

“Is that what this was about?” Hux asked.  “This is the strangest way anyone has ever approached me.”

And it was.  People didn’t make a habit of approaching Hux.  He’d been told many times that he was attractive, but he had a habit of staring everyone down and making himself seem as approachable as a great white shark.  His last relationship had been with a colleague, and he’d managed to balls that one up quite nicely with his pedantry and control freak tendencies. 

Kylo flushed, his embarrassment obvious but no less endearing for it.  “Is it working?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”  

Before Kylo could respond they were interrupted by Rose, the staff member that had been in charge of the voting papers.  “Rey told me to remind you to pick up your gear. Don’t leave it here like you did last time. You know that Peavey has been looking to steal that sword of yours, Ben.”

Kylo grunted an acknowledgment and Rose quickly left.  She had a smile on her face that made Hux wonder if she’d seen Kylo kiss his hand earlier, but there was something more pressing on his mind than whether the staff of the Millennium Falcon had seen Kylo hitting on him.

“Ben?”

“You didn’t think my parents named me ‘Kylo,’ did you?  They’re weird, but not quite that weird.”

Armitage stared at his empty glass and wished for a refill.  “Of course not. So, do I save your number under ‘Kylo’ or ‘Ben’?”

“Either works,” Kylo said with a smile.  “I’d love to stay here chatting all night, but I need to get my things before either Rey comes to find me, or I lose a sword.”

“Oh, I think Rey is a little busy.”  She was still talking to Phasma at the bar, the two of them laughing over a shared joke.  “But, don’t lose your sword because of me.”

“Call me.  Or I’ll call you.”

“Definitely.”  Hux watched as Kylo stood up and headed towards the bar.

This was not how Hux had expected the night to go.  He had expected a night full of fake trickery and instead had seen something that he was beginning to realise was truly real magic.  He’d been levitated eight feet in the air by a talented magician that Hux was totally not thinking about kissing right now, and had his phone number.  Hux added Kylo’s number to his contacts, a genuine smile gracing his lips as he did so. Hux was just about to Google how to get a barrel or five of _Heavenly Blonde_ for Phasma, when Kylo turned around and came back to Hux’s table.

“Did you forget something?”

Kylo didn’t say anything.  He didn’t need to, not when his answer to Hux’s question came in the form of kissing the breath out of Hux’s mouth.  The kiss was rushed and forceful; as if Kylo had to kiss Hux before his confidence disappeared and his nerves took over.  It didn’t make it any less glorious though. Hux sighed with satisfaction onto Kylo’s lips when Kylo pulled back slightly, and grabbed him by his red tie when he tried to step back.

The second kiss was better.  Kylo’s nerves seemed to have dissipated now that Hux had reciprocated and everything moved slower.  There truly was magic in the Millennium Falcon that night, and Hux was definitely falling under the spell of Kylo Ren.  Kylo’s lips were just as petal-soft as Hux had dreamed they would be, and his big hands felt like reassuring weights around Hux’s waist.  They wouldn’t let him fall, just like Kylo hadn’t let him fall on stage.

It was the sound of Phasma loudly wolf-whistling at them that made Kylo step back, and sure enough, she was stood at the table with an equally giddy Rey.  “I see that you boys are getting on well,” Phasma said with a grin.

Hux grinned back.  “I could say the same about the two of you.”

“Yes, you could,” Rey replied.  She then turned to Kylo. “Have you picked up your stuff yet?”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Kylo replied, his frustration at both Rey’s question and the interruption obvious.  “Make sure you call me, Hux!”

Rey accompanied Kylo to fetch his gear, leaving Hux alone with Phasma once again.  She was still grinning at him. Hux knew that there were a million things she wanted to say to him, and a million things she wanted to tease him about.

Hux decided to jump in first.  “You were right. Tonight was fun.  Some of the magic was fake, but Kylo’s wasn’t.  I’m glad I came, and I hope I can see him again.  You can say, ‘I told you so’ now.”

“I would never,” Phasma declared in a tone of mock indignation.  “Are you ready to leave?”

Hux quickly checked his pockets to make sure that he had everything he needed and made sure to pick up Kylo’s business card from the table.  “Ready when you are.”

They headed out into the brisk London night air together and waited for the Uber Phasma had ordered to arrive.  The signboard advertising the Magic Grand Prix was still outside, and Hux took a photo of it, partly because it was so terrible, and partly out of sentimentality.  This night would always be the night that he met Kylo Ren and discovered that not all magic was fake.

He made a mental note to buy Phasma that ale.

“When you see Kylo next time,” Phasma said as the Uber pulled up, “make sure he shows you his magic wand.”

Hux cancelled that mental note and shoved Phasma into the car.

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many headcanons about magician Kylo Ren that I nearly put into this. From Anakin being this world famous magician and magic running in the family, to the Knights of Ren being Kylo's magic group that he's the master of. None of it seemed particularly relevant to how the story developed though, so they stayed in my head.
> 
> And Heavenly Blonde is the name of a genuine real ale. It seemed an appropriate name for Phasma.
> 
> You can catch me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rosensilence) and [Tumblr](http://rosensilence.tumblr.com/)


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